New to this

[ChocolateGanache]

I am heading towards 50 next birthday
perimenopausal, stressful leadership role at work, 2 teens, elderly parent, so life can be busy!

i have 3 stone to lose.
i have been low carbing (mostly!)
and started with a PT a few months ago.
I love training with her! It’s so much less boring and she gives me confidence to try things I wouldn’t ordinarily try.
I am starting to see some definition and feel stronger / better posture.
building up my number of visits, as initially the DOMS killed me for days!

I am wondering how long it takes to really see a big difference in body shape.

what exercise have you found most effective/ enjoyable and why?

You won't see muscle/definition without loss of body fat (calorie deficit )and heavy weights and a decent protein intake. Especially as a woman. How many times a week are you training?
Not worth asking what we find enjoyable as we are not you

Change in body is about diet. You can't out-train bad eating habits.

If you commit to losing weight via changing your eating habits (portions, what you eat etc) then weight training will help - more than cardio exercise actually. Google "body recomposition" or "recomp" - it is something you can do. THis might help:

It took me about 6 months of lifting increasingly heavy weights & losing 10 kilos at age 58 to feel the difference in strength - although I've always exercised & have a serious training in ballet/dance, so I was already reasonably athletic. But my fitness & strength are now at another level, and very advanced for my age (65)

Hey @ChocolateGanache

You might like to find some time to listen to Dr Stacey Sims interview on Diary of a CEO. It will likely answer a lot of questions you might have about achieving sustainable fat loss as a peri or post-menopausal woman.

Once you've listened to that, head over to the Hailey Happens Fitness App and check out the Shred Challenge, Foundation Happens and Power Happens courses.

The Shred Challenge content is super useful as you go through a specially designed programme to aid in fat loss, it will help you understand the relationship between calories, and different macro profiles. And hands to you on a plate all of exercise routines that will assist in body recomposition- if you've nailed the nutrition element. The science is solid, and everything explained very well.